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Employee Training and Development Best Practices

Written by Kelsey Smith

This Employee Training and Development Policy is a good foundation for your company’s employment policies. It should be adapted to your company’s specific needs and circumstances.

The Employee Training and Development Policy is otherwise known as Staff Training and Development Policy or Employee Development Policy (more…)
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The Role of Ongoing Support: How Franchisors are Providing Training for Front-Line Employees

Written by Kaleigh Wells

When it comes to training and development in franchising, there are so many ways that the content, best practices, and insights are being delivered. In a franchise system, there is continuous learning. While traditional group training in a classroom environment is still the norm at franchise headquarters, ongoing development for unit owners and their teams is vital. No one wants to be stuck in a classroom for weeks on end, so alternative delivery methods like eLearning or on-the-job training are on the rise. With so many creative ways to acquire best practices and insights, training and development in franchising has never been more accessible or engaging. Have you ever felt like you couldn’t possibly absorb any more information during an eight-hour lecture? Turns out, your brain might not be able to retain as much as you hoped. Studies show that only a small percentage of training content is remembered after spending the entire day in a classroom.

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Why Training Your Frontline Employees Is Pivotal to Your Business’s Success

When it comes to running a successful business, many factors come into play. From creating a solid brand identity to developing effective marketing strategies, business owners have a lot on their plate. However, one key aspect of success that is often overlooked is the importance of adequately training frontline employees. 

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What Are Examples of an LMS

Written by Kelsey Smith

Learning Management Systems (LMS) have come a long way since the invention of the first teaching machine by Sydney Pressey.

An LMS is no longer a one-size-fits-all prospect. Modern learners now have many options to choose from depending on their needs.

Examples of LMS in the market today include.

  • Open-Source
  • SaaS Cloud
  • Proprietary

You’ve probably experienced different types of learning management systems without even realizing it. If you’re still unsure what an LMS is, here’s a definition from TechTarget:

“An LMS is a software application or web-based technology used to plan, implement, and assess a specific learning process.”

Essentially, an LMS is software that facilitates online learning and enables you to track an employee’s learning progress.

How Does an LMS Facilitate Online Learning?

  • An LMS allows an instructor to deliver personalized courses to students over the Internet.
  • It enables students to log into the course and study when it’s convenient for them, even when they’re on the move.
  • A good LMS allows for safe communication within the system. Non-participants aren’t privy to any correspondence among participants.
  • Because all course-related materials can be found in one place, the student can go back to refresh their memory and in time become an expert on the subject.
  • The LMS delivers information in small chunks (micro-learning) so that the student retains information easily.
  • A quality LMS incorporates features such as self-marking tests, gaming, and social tools to provide an engaging learning experience.

Comparing Different Types of LMS

Enterprise vs. Individual

  • Enterprise

Enterprise LMS solutions are usually for larger companies or those that are growing rapidly. As companies expand operations and hiring, an enterprise solution is easy to scale and can accommodate a virtually unlimited number of users and courses.

  • Individual

An Individual LMS, on the other hand, is more appropriate for smaller organizations. It is usually sold via a subscription model and may come with fewer features and a lower price point.

Free vs. Commercial

  • Free LMS

There is a plethora of open-source software with great features that trainers can use for free to create courses and train employees.

However, free LMS requires that you have the knowledge to deploy it. If not, you’ll have to bring on a consultant to implement it for you. Also, the free LMS may not have the best customer support, if it has any at all.

  • Commercial

A commercial LMS is intended to be used by an organization or institution. In contrast to the free LMS, the commercial version is easier to implement, provides better customer service, and more sophisticated features. The other differentiator, of course, is that it’s not free. Generally speaking, the capabilities and features that you require will determine how much you pay.

SaaS vs. Licensed Product

  • Software as a Service (SaaS)

The SaaS LMS is one of the most user-friendly models on the market. It lives in the cloud, is easy to deploy and scale, and can accommodate rapid growth. And because it can be accessed 24/7 via mobile device, it is extremely flexible.

One of the reasons why the SaaS LMS is so popular in the finance, technology, and insurance industries, to name just a few, is that they don’t have to concern themselves with technical aspects such as loading software, data backup and server maintenance. All of that is handled by the SaaS LMS vendor.

  • Licensed Product

A licensed product can offer many benefits, including customization and different options for deployment and having it hosted in the cloud or at your headquarters. The main difference is the license fee.

Cloud-based vs On-premise

  • Cloud-based LMS

An LMS that is hosted by a vendor on their server is what we call a cloud-based LMS. This is the “no mess” solution for companies that may not have the servers and technical expertise in-house. Rather than get into the weeds of the technology, they’d rather have their LMS hosted off-site.

  • On-premise LMS

An on-premise LMS is built to order at your corporate location and usually with multiple servers. It requires a more hands-on approach and the expertise to operate it and maintain data security. One disadvantage is that it tends to be more difficult to scale than a cloud-based LMS and may be more expensive.

Discover why these world-famous brands use World Manager for online training. Ask us

What is Open-Source LMS?

Have you ever heard people describing the software as ‘free’? Because it doesn’t necessarily mean that you can download it at no cost.

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What it really means is that the copyright holder has provided the rights to modify the software’s source code to developers and users.

Since there are no licensing fees, an anonymous entity can modify the software for any purpose and distribute as many copies of it as possible.

It’s collaborative, so any member of the tech community may also add new features to the original source code.

Some of the most popular open-source software include:

So an open-source LMS is one that makes its source code available to any user.

And you can scrutinize and customize the source code according to your business learning needs.

Small businesses with few employees to train generally prefer an open-source LMS. This is because it gives you core software features without the overhead of purchasing costly licenses.

So what are some examples of an open-source LMS?

Moodle

Moodle prioritizes social learning – its interface can be customized to resemble popular social tools.

For instance, you can add features such as posts and a timeline of learners’ activities as well as comments, votes, and other calls to action.

A Moodle user has a profile that looks like this:

Screenshot from Moodle Helps

Features:

  • Customizable site design and layout
  • Single sign-on module
  • Easy integration with video conferencing software, CMS and CRMs
  • Multilingual capability
  • Supports third-party add-ons and over 500 plugins such as Office 365 and OneNote

Open edX

Open edX enables you to host and deploy your own branded course instead of creating a new one. Open edX has two components:

  • The studio, is used by the administrator and instructor to design and manage courses
  • The LMS, through which the learner accesses the course

Features:

  • Self-paced learning
  • Online discussion groups
  • Wiki-based collaborative learning
  • Right to left language support
  • Course and learner analytics
  • Supports video, HTML, and text

This is how the student dashboard looks on Open edX

Screenshot from Open edX

ATutor

ATutor is a unique LMS fashioned for learners with disabilities. It’s renowned for two things:

Accessibility

ATutor has features that make the LMS suitable for visually impaired learners, such as:

  • Text alternatives for visual elements and a screen reader which enables the user to listen to the LMS interface
  • Keyboard access, which makes it easy for the learner to use ATutor without a mouse

Adaptability

The themes, tool modules, groups and privilege sections make ATutor adaptable in the following ways:

  • You can customize the layout of the system, adding categories to fit your teaching needs
  • You can assign management roles to certain course members so they can author parts of the course or use some of the LMS tools within the system
  • A learner can set up a profile with personal information and profile picture
  • Learners can collaborate and communicate with other participants through a private mail inbox or chat room.
Screenshot from Atutor

What is Proprietary LMS?

Proprietary LMSs are built and hosted by a single company or entity. They are based on software development known as closed-source.

A proprietary LMS comes with a copyright license that restricts users from changing the source code.

In fact, violating these copyright laws can be classified as cybercrime.

A copyright license keeps other businesses from modifying the source code to create a competing product.

Unlike an open-source LMS, you can’t demand software changes or improve its design – the owner decides what features and upgrades will be made.

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Fortunately, you have self-help options such as a user manual and a dedicated FAQ in case you encounter any problems.

A proprietary LMS also invariably offers customer support.

What are some examples of proprietary LMS?

Blackboard Learn

Blackboard Learn is a self-host LMS that caters to K-12 users, higher education, businesses, and government institutions.

Instructor’s resources look like this on Blackboard Learn.

Features:

  • Custom branding
  • Custom layout
  • Exam engine
  • Student portal
  • Skills tracking
  • Grading
  • Discussions
  • Analytics (Restricted to companies and government institutions)
  • Data import and export
  • Easy integration with Microsoft OneDrive and Dropbox

Schoology

Schoology LMS allows for virtual learning for K-12 and higher education students. They can share academic content within the LMS and collaborate on different subjects.

The website is hosted by the vendor but instructors can upload content and assignments into the LMS and use the rich text editor and other tools to create lessons.

Features:

  • Customized branding
  • Online grade book
  • Homework Dropbox
  • Audio and video recording
  • Data integration with student information systems
  • Color-coded workload thresholds
  • Third-party software integration
  • Performance tracking
  • Analytics

This screenshot shows how Schoology uses color-coding to indicate student performance and mastery.

Screenshot from Schoology

What is SaaS Cloud LMS?

SaaS stands for Software-as-a-Service. It’s also known as hosted software and is delivered to approved end users only.

A SaaS Cloud LMS is hosted on the vendor’s servers or on the cloud.

The source code is the same for all clients. When upgrades are rolled out, all clients benefit from the new features.

Since it’s housed in the cloud, upgrades are done centrally, which makes maintenance easier and more cost-effective.

What are some examples of leading SaaS Cloud LMSs?

World Manager

The World Manager LMS is one of the best cloud-based training, communications, and compliance platforms on the market.

Firstly, you get product upgrades and customer support for free.

Secondly, its user-friendly platform features three crucial components that keep users engaged:

  • Communication suite: Enables an employee to communicate with participants through chat forums, calendar and image galleries
  • Training suite: Mobile-first so it delivers training on any device in real-time
  • Education suite: Allows companies to deliver accredited courses to their employees through a customized training academy

Features:

    • Custom branding
    • Integrates with third-party SCORM content
    • Varied test options such as multiple-choice, tick boxes and written test
  • Optimized for mobile use
  • ACTIV presentations
  • Checklist sign-off
  • Policy sign-offs
  • Achievement awards tool
  • Real-time analytics
  • Employee surveys

EthosCE

EthosCE LMS delivers continuing education to health professionals. Learners can use the LMS to share their learning experience on their social media channels such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Features:

  • Customized branding
  • Single sign-on module
  • Bulk import of learner registration details and transcripts
  • Multimedia tests
  • Learner follow-up assessments
  • Course completion certificates
  • Customized resources for poorly performing learners
  • Course data and performance analytics
Course completion certificate offered by EthosCE.

Do I Really Need an LMS?

A thriving business needs well-trained staff.

An LMS can help you train your employees in a fun and engaging way – from onboarding new employees or training newly promoted staff.

LMS analytics identifies communication gaps and weak spots in your team.

And these actionable insights can help drive business growth and give you a competitive advantage.

Are you ready to change how you do business? Book a customized demo today.

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ADDIE Training Model: What Is It & How To Use It

the-ADDIE-model

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5 Most Popular Employee Training Methods

Written by Kelsey Smith

It’s a truth universally acknowledged: Well-trained employees are more satisfied and more productive than those who are not. Given how important training can be for an employee’s day-to-day success, managers must take care when designing training courses and modules. There are many exciting training options for learners to explore – it’s hard not to get caught up in the latest trends and technologies.Different training methods have different strengths and drawbacks, of course. By understanding the options available to your and your team, you can begin considering the best fit for your needs. Here are five of the most popular employee training methods – and why you should consider implementing each one.

1. Classroom Learning

There’s a reason why traditional instructor-led training is such a classic: the method allows for constant back and forth between trainers and trainees. Questions are addressed that might go unanswered in other types of employee training, and participants can bounce ideas and concepts off of one another. So long as energy remains high, learners stay engaged throughout the entire process. While other forms of training might be more technologically advanced, there’s something to be said for the magic of in-person, collaborative learning opportunities.

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Of course, classroom learning isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Some learners may find traditional sit-and-get style training boring. There’s also the matter of venues, travel, and catering. Classroom learning can become expensive, and fast. Still, this classic form of staff training is unlikely to lose popularity any time soon – the benefits simply outweigh most of the drawbacks.

2. eLearning

Virtual learning has become more prevalent in recent years, for obvious reasons. We’re all constantly on our devices anyway, so this employee training method is a natural extension of our daily habits. This kind of learning style is ideal for self-paced training; without an in-person facilitator guiding learners through each session, employees can take their time with the material. The real benefit to eLearning is its scalability, though. Any number of people can take online workplace training at once, making it easy to roll out content for an entire company’s workforce.

eLearning doesn’t come without its share of challenges. The graphics and visuals that make up computer-based training can age quickly, so keeping things updated is critical. And since most eLearning training is completed without supervision, it can be hard to know how engaged with the content employees really are. You may want to supplement eLearning with surveys, quizzes, or additional evaluation tools to gauge its impact and drive completion.

3. Hands-On Training

Some people learn best by doing. Hands-on training allows learners to jump straight into the practical skills necessary for a given role. It’s an ideal way to train someone for a new position or to prepare them for new responsibilities. By participating in theoretical activities and applying them to their current role, learners can develop the muscle memory necessary for all kinds of duties and responsibilities.

Hands-on staff training can be overwhelming for some individuals, so it’s important to keep an eye on the progress of your learners. It may be worthwhile to pair more experienced employees with newer folks, allowing newbies to gain important context before diving into an activity on their own. Shadowing can be beneficial for the more experienced partner, too – there’s no better way to reinforce ideas and procedures than by showing others how it’s done.

4. Mentorship

Structured forms of the curriculum will always have their place in the world of employee training, but alternative methods are gaining in popularity. Mentorship programs can do wonders in supporting and training new employees. By pairing them with a more senior staff member, you’ll help foster relationships while also making them feel supported and welcomed. It’s ideal for employees who may not feel comfortable speaking up and asking questions in traditional classroom settings.

The one drawback of mentorship programs? They take a lot of time to implement the right way. Mentoring can be incredibly costly in terms of employee hours, and if your more senior staff are reluctant to take on more responsibility, the relationship may feel forced. So long as there’s buy-in from both mentor and mentee, though, this form of workplace training can prove successful.

5. Role-playing

Acting out potential work scenarios is another effective training method for employees. Role-playing provides a controlled setting for new and experienced staff members alike to practice handling difficult situations. Especially useful for those in customer-facing roles, role-playing activities give people the opportunity to think on their feet while examining different perspectives.

Not everyone enjoys being the center of attention, even in role-playing scenarios. While the practice may seem low-key to some, the idea of acting out a scene with colleagues is enough to send some learners cowering in the back of the classroom. Play to the strengths of your team and never force someone’s participation. Doing so could backfire and cause negative associations with that particular aspect of training.

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Choosing The Right Training for Your Team

At FranConnect, we know no single employee training method will work for all learners. For organizations to truly thrive, management must constantly work to develop the talents and skills of their employees. This often depends on finding the right training method – or a blend of several. If you’re eager to explore your options and want a learning management system to help you manage your training methods in one place, World Manager is the answer. Reach out today for a demo!

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